No country for women?

I live in a country where women are thought of as objects; whose primary duties are to stay within the four walls of her house, take care of her family and work in the kitchen. It is infuriating to live everyday worrying about what kind of harassment I may have to suffer today. Crimes against women have always been happening in India but in recent times there has been a shocking surge in such incidents. It makes me wonder what has suddenly gone wrong with the mentality of the men in India. Why is it so difficult to keep your thing in your pants? It’s absolutely sickening to see hypocritical sex-crazed men worship goddesses at home and then go out and rape women. What surprises me more is men who have ladies in their family and still do not feel any shame in going out and raping other women. What is it that has drastically gone wrong in mindset of men that makes them believe that women are objects and they can be treated like trash on the road?

All those gender biased statements like "women belong in the kitchen, not on the roads", "a woman has got nothing to do once she is done with her kitchen work" irk me to no extent. I completely resent the massive objectification of women done in commercials. I honestly don’t see the need to use a semi-nude woman in a shoe or toothpaste commercial. I also blame the movie industry for making road romeos and other wannabe studs believe that they can achieve any girl they want by hook or by crook. You can’t get a girl by simply breaking out into a song, stalking her, slashing your wrist off, or by delivering a cheesy proposal. And no, just by making use of deodorant, girls won’t come running after you. As surprising as it may sound to you, things like education, financial security, compatibility, etc. are important when you wish to impress a girl. Because reality is not as easy and dreamy as shown in the movies.

I sometimes fantasize about doing and saying some horrid things to rapists/molesters/chauvinists who have no qualms in treating women as sub-par human beings. These are the kind of men who have the audacity to blame women for their own lack of control. Such a disgrace!

1. To politicians/chauvinists/fraud men who claim to be God and say that the woman called the assault upon herself. Women tempt men by wearing short clothes (Jeans, saree, t shirts, skirts, salwar kameez, abaya and the like)

Reply: Please do humanity a favour and shut your mouth. Don’t you dare blame me for your lack of self control. What about innocent kids who get raped? What have they done to be subjected to your cruel acts? If just looking at a woman makes you so sex-hungry, it only means that you a disgusting pig! It is NOT my fault. It never was.

2. To men who justify the rape by saying they were under the influence of alcohol
Reply: Oh wow! You actually think that makes it okay? Fine. Then I would like to get drunk and cut your balls off so we can be even.

3. To rapists: Castrate. Stone to death. Skin alive.

4. To despos who can’t stop staring at you and clicking your pictures
Reply: I want to stab you in the eye with a Rampuri. I am not an alien from Mars. Just a human being like you with different body parts. Get over it! Seriously.

5. To random guys who ask you to join them for a drink/if you want to spend the night with them

Reply: I have money. I can buy my own drink. And NO, just because I drink, smoke, dress up and go to clubs doesn’t mean I’m footloose or a slut. It does not mean I am available. I am just trying to have a good time and you are making it impossible. I don’t understand why our choice of activities should be decided by what gender we belong to.

6. To strangers who want to call you by cutesy names and abbreviate your name (sweety, cutie, hottie, sexy)

Reply: Your name calling is not making even an iota of good impression on me. Rather, it’s offending. Very offending. I am not an object. You don’t know me. You have no right to call me by whatever name you choose for me. I actually like my name. Don’t change it.

7. To men who think getting married to a woman gives him the right to rape his wife

Reply: Rape is rape. NO means NO. Sex is not the purpose of getting married. You don’t own her. She is not some sort of property. She is human.

According to me, all men who commit crimes against women should be castrated. There is absolutely no fear of law in our country. Some chauvinist men think women were created only for sex and making food. What they fail to realize is that they don’t even have the ability to come into this world without the support of a woman. It’s really sad to learn about men robbing women of their dignity every single day. The same women who give men the gift of life.

I don’t feel safe anymore. No matter how much I try to persuade myself to believe that everything will be alright. There is always a fear of getting assaulted. A nudge, deep creepy stares, stalking, groping are some of the few things that girls face almost every day. There is no assurance of safely returning home without being put through gender discrimination. Where is a girl supposed to go and what is she supposed to do in order to feel safe?

Anything a victim says or does is used against her. The reason for the lack of fear of law among criminals is that Indian law system is completely deteriorated. Cases go on for years with no assurance of justice. The victim and her family are always harassed to the maximum extent. Influential people involved in criminal cases manipulate the concerned authorities. There is no hope until men start to realize that women are not objects but human beings, someone that breathes and lives just like them.

It’s high time our law system strengthens and starts giving women their due respect. Because we deserve it. It’s a hard thing to ask for considering our so-called leaders are often the ones who commit heinous crimes against women. There should be immediate and strict action taken against molesters, eve teasers, chauvinists, rapists. Everyone should be subjected to the same law as we are all part of one nation. A criminal should never be let off just because he is a juvenile. A person committing such a ruthless crime has the mental maturity of an adult. He can be called anything but a juvenile. Unless there is no fear, crimes will continue to happen. It is important to stop harassment of the victim. From a young age, children should be taught that both women and men are equal and gender discrimination is a sin. We as a nation need to wake up and fight against this kind of violence constantly to make sure that justice has been served.